You Can`t Lick A Chill Factor

Selling ice cream here in wintertime is like selling ice cubes to Eskimos: You`d better have a sideline. Shirlee Rito, who manages the Ice Cream Club, at 32 E. Oak St., understands this. Besides ice cream, she sells coffee and cappuccino, and next fall will start to stock rolls and croissants.

It`s a clean, well-lighted place-and empty. Today, she`s had a grand total of six ice-cream sales.

Shirlee spends these slow days reading and doing crossword puzzles, but remains cheerful and optimistic.

The club is part of a Florida-based franchise operation, and Shirlee runs this store with a son and a third partner. It`s her first business venture.

They opened early last August, and did big business until the cold weather set in last October. Last weekend, the shop got a brief burst of activity when the thermometer went up and sent customers into an ice-cream frenzy.

She sold 162 cones in one day.

``It was like summer,`` Shirlee says. ``We didn`t get out of here until a quarter to 1 in the morning.``

But even 162 cones won`t cover the $3,000 or so due on the first of every month.

A young woman comes in-a veritable mob these days. She scans the tubs of ice cream and says, ``I`ll have a Lake Shore Drive``-a combination of chocolate ice cream, marshmallow syrup and white and dark chocolate chips. ``I just got one of those cravings,`` she says.